Captain Underpants Poster Summons a New Kind of Superhero

6 months ago

Back in December, Dreamworks Animation gave fans their first look at the long-awaited animated adaptation Captain Underpants, which is getting set to hit theaters on June 2. While it still remains to be seen when the first trailer may arrive, the studio has unveiled the first poster, offering another look at this hero and his own version of Batman’s “Bat-signal.” Instead of the iconic Bat logo, though, this signal features the title characters’ trademark tighty whitey underpants.

This poster, which debuted on Nerdist today, also reveals the movie’s full title, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. It isn’t clear if the “First Epic Movie” is signalling that this is the first in a series of movies, or that it’s merely the first movie to be based on the popular book series written by Dav Pilkey, which has spanned 12 books. This movie will also help celebrate the 20th anniversary of first book’s debut.

Captain Underpants centers on two fourth graders who are best friends and who draw comics that they sell on the playground. Their creation, Captain Underpants, becomes real when the duo accidentally hypnotize the school’s mean principal who turns into an actual superhero. Ed Helms is playing Principal Krupp, who turns into Captain Underpants every time he hears fingers snapping. Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch will lend their voices to George and Harold, the teenage comic book creators who inadvertently hypnotize their principal. The voice cast also includes Nick Kroll as Professor Poopypants, Jordan Peele as Melvin, who becomes Bionic Booger Boy later on in the book series, and Kristen Schaal voicing Edith.

The book series has been translated into 20 languages, with more than 70 million books sold worldwide, with over 50 million in the United States alone. Despite its popularity, the Captain Underpants books have always been quite controversial, with several parents accusing the book of using inappropriate language for the film’s target audience, elementary school children. The Office of Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association reported that, in both 2012 and 2013, Captain Underpants had the most complaints from libraries due to offensive content in the United States.

Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) is directing Captain Underpants, from an adapted screenplay by Nick Stoller (Neighbors). Mark Swift (Penguins of Madagascar) and Mireille Soria (Madagascar) serve as producers, with Deborah Forte (Goosebumps) serving as an executive producer. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie will hit theaters on June 2, going up against one of this summer’s most highly-anticipated movies, Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman. Take a look at the new poster for Captain Underpants below, as we continue the countdown towards this summer movie.